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| Thai man accused by brother of insulting king cleared after year in jail | Thai man accused by brother of insulting king cleared after year in jail |
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| A Thai man accused by his brother of insulting the monarchy has been acquitted after a judge ruled it was possible that the charge had been levelled simply out of sibling rivalry. | A Thai man accused by his brother of insulting the monarchy has been acquitted after a judge ruled it was possible that the charge had been levelled simply out of sibling rivalry. |
| Yuthapoom Martnok, 36, was indicted last year under Thailand's tough lèse-majesté law, article 112 – the crime of violating majesty – and spent nearly a year behind bars without bail on national security grounds. | |
| The case sparked controversy in Thailand – where lèse-majesté charges are punishable by up to 15 years in prison – not only because the defamation allegedly happened behind closed doors at the family home the two brothers shared, but also because it involved one person's word against another's. | |
| Analysts called the case absurd and said it proved just how easy it was for the law to be abused. In the past, cases have revolved around defamation in the public domain, such as on the internet, in speeches or, in one case, over a translation of a banned biography of the king. | Analysts called the case absurd and said it proved just how easy it was for the law to be abused. In the past, cases have revolved around defamation in the public domain, such as on the internet, in speeches or, in one case, over a translation of a banned biography of the king. |
| This case was different. The defendant, Yuthapoom, claimed that he and his older brother Thanawat, 38, argued frequently and vehemently over subjects ranging from how to run the business they shared to national politics and their dogs. Some fights had turned into near-deadly brawls, with Yuthapoom once brandishing a knife at his brother and police being called to their house. | |
| Thanawat said he and his brother fought all the time and that Yuthapoom never listened. He moved out of the house just after the knife incident in 2009, and a month later filed an official lèse-majesté charge, claiming that Yuthapoom had made insulting comments about the king as they watched him on television, and that he later wrote offensive comments about him on a video CD. | |
| King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 85, is a much-loved figure in Thailand, and his portrait hangs in many homes and shops. The country's pro-monarchy laws are among the toughest in the world and punish those who "defame, insult or threaten the king, the queen or the heir to the throne or regent". | King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 85, is a much-loved figure in Thailand, and his portrait hangs in many homes and shops. The country's pro-monarchy laws are among the toughest in the world and punish those who "defame, insult or threaten the king, the queen or the heir to the throne or regent". |
| Critics claim the laws are used to silence dissent and healthy dialogue in an effort to maintain national security. The number of charges filed has jumped since the military coup in 2006 that ousted the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was widely criticised for attempting to undermine the monarchy, charges he denied. | Critics claim the laws are used to silence dissent and healthy dialogue in an effort to maintain national security. The number of charges filed has jumped since the military coup in 2006 that ousted the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was widely criticised for attempting to undermine the monarchy, charges he denied. |
| In an interview while he was still in prison, Yuthapoom said his brother had accused him in order to squeeze him out of their car-cleaning liquid business, and described the case as a "family feud that has been blown way out of proportion". | |
| "I can't believe my own brother would do this to me," he said. "I'm still trying to grasp how it came to this." | "I can't believe my own brother would do this to me," he said. "I'm still trying to grasp how it came to this." |
| Yuthapoom's brother was the only person who claimed to have seen or heard the defendant make the comments, and other relatives including his mother testified that Yuthapoom would often light candles at home to commemorate the king's birthday. The mother said she had never heard or seen her son defame the crown. | |
| The judge at a Bangkok criminal court who read out the verdict on Friday cited lack of evidence and conflicting testimony from the sole accuser and said: "The brothers fought bitterly in the past so it is possible that the law was used by one brother to get back at the other." | The judge at a Bangkok criminal court who read out the verdict on Friday cited lack of evidence and conflicting testimony from the sole accuser and said: "The brothers fought bitterly in the past so it is possible that the law was used by one brother to get back at the other." |
| After the verdict was read, Yuthapoom said justice had been served and added: "I can now get on with living my life." | After the verdict was read, Yuthapoom said justice had been served and added: "I can now get on with living my life." |
| David Streckfuss, an expert in lèse-majesté cases, said the acquittal was an "encouraging sign". He said: "It would have been worrying had the court decided to try the case because it would have set a precedent for a whole new level of invasion of privacy for things related to lèse-majesté." | |
| Yuthapoom's lawyer, Saouvalux Pongam, who worked on the case pro bono, said that in spite of the case's dismissal, "the core problem of the 112 law remains". | |
| She added: "Anyone can sue anyone [else] and police have to pursue the case. It's so easy to accuse anyone of this crime." | |
| Human rights groups along with the US, EU and UN have expressed concern over the way article 112 is used. In a recent letter to the UN human rights council, the Hong Kong-based Asian Legal Resource Centre called into question the routine denial of bail to those accused, the substandard medical care provided in prison and the secrecy with which the courts operated. | Human rights groups along with the US, EU and UN have expressed concern over the way article 112 is used. In a recent letter to the UN human rights council, the Hong Kong-based Asian Legal Resource Centre called into question the routine denial of bail to those accused, the substandard medical care provided in prison and the secrecy with which the courts operated. |
| Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, called the case an absurdity but said the result showed that the judiciary had at least "set some parameters around this absurd law". | |
| "This acquittal will just add to the pressure to [revise] article 112 so that it becomes more practical and siblings in the same family can't simply accuse each other like that," he said. "[In the future perhaps] the accused can be granted bail and not spend one year of his life in jail." | "This acquittal will just add to the pressure to [revise] article 112 so that it becomes more practical and siblings in the same family can't simply accuse each other like that," he said. "[In the future perhaps] the accused can be granted bail and not spend one year of his life in jail." |
| Relations between the two brothers are now understandably strained. "There was no other way to talk sense into him," Thanawat said when asked why he had levelled the charge against his brother. "He had to be taught a lesson." | Relations between the two brothers are now understandably strained. "There was no other way to talk sense into him," Thanawat said when asked why he had levelled the charge against his brother. "He had to be taught a lesson." |
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